Nathan the Machinist
KnifeMaker / Machinist / Evil Genius
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2007
- Messages
- 15,650
In some ways these are the ultimate Light Choppers, but there are also some reasons not to buy this knife so I'm posting this early with information and will unlock at 3:00 eastern time to give you a chance to contemplate without being in a hurry.
It lacks both the nearly unbreakable reliability and the corrosion resistance of the Delta 3V version and is more expensive, all in the pursuit of some specific performance characteristics, so in many ways it's a lot like a race car <--- fun but not as practical for every day driving.
It's more expensive than regular D3V not because it's "better" but because the raw material is more expensive and it's more costly to mill and grind. It's less reliable because it's less ductile so extremely rough use will result in a break rather then a bend. And it needs more maintenance because it's not a stainless so you need to clean it off when you're done if you care about its appearance.
Lots of good reasons to pass on this one folks. It's not practical. Go home. You don't need this...
Now that said: it's my favorite LC (I plan to keep one for myself) and: it's probably the highest performance knife of its nature I've made. I'll explain.
These are thinner than normal (almost RLC) Light Choppers with heat treat optimized CPM 4V at HRC 64 taken down under .020" before sharpening and sharpened at 15 DPS. This is aggressive geometry used in competition cuts. That's the purpose of this alloy and HT, it can do that. You probably shouldn't use these to baton through a lot of fire wood but as thin as they are they're not fragile and they'll hold up fine in a competition cut including 2X4 chop, oak dowel, golf ball etc without chipping, rolling or appreciably dulling and sail through ropes, water bottles, paper and straws etc like a laser beam. This is a high performance knife with high edge stability and resistance to the sort of damage like chips, rolls and bends that can get points deducted in a race with the same advanced metallurgy and thin geometry used in competitions. Actually more advanced metallurgy, our heat treat outperforms the current "state-of-the-art".
We started working on optimizing the heat treat for CPM 4V in preparation for the Bladesports Competition knives collaboration with Dan. We've been working on this over the year and there are actually more test knives than sale knives here, meaning that at this point most of the work has been sacrificed to the testing gods. So, the real reason for this work is the comp knives, the 4V LC is just the final platform for the development. But it did yield some very good work and these knives are surplus to that work.
There is a lot of hand grinding that has gone into these particular knives so there is more variation from one to another in things like the plunge and grind lines etc than normal.
We usually have knives mostly done and at least started sharpening before posting a sale. Hard 4V grinds and tumbles slowly, so these aren't ready yet. They're in process and the first of them will start to ship next week but some will be the following week. Sorry about that.
This is the last of the Light Chopper pattern, it is retired. Since we're winding down there are limited numbers of scales available. They will be available on a first come, first serve basis. There are no TeroTuf available, but being a racing knife if anybody wants TeroTuf I will setup and make them, but it will be a few weeks before they're ready.
4V Light Chopper Specs:
HT optimized CPM 4V, 64.0 HRC, .188 thick at ricasso
Total length 15.625
Blade length 9.875
Edge was taken under .020 and sharpened 15 DPS
Weight 17 oz
Grippy 3D machined scales in micarta or TeroTuf
Black oxide treated 18-8 stainless steel fasteners
old pictures from a D3V sale just for reference:
$460 without sheath in micarta, black or natural (five sets in natural, two sets in black available)
$485 without sheath in TeroTuf (none pre-made, can be custom ordered for this sale, will take a few weeks)
$485 without sheath in black and green linen Micarta on black liner (two sets available)
$495 without sheath in maroon linen Micarta on black liner (three sets available)
$505 without sheath in vintage edge grain micarta with black micarta liner (two sets available)
Sheath with dangler $80
Sheath with TekLok $65
Shipping is $10.
This is a big knife. If you're going to carry it on your belt you might prefer the dangler sheath. If you're putting it on or in your pack you might prefer the TekLok. Both configurations work both ways, but it's nice to have a choice.
Tell me what scale option you choose and I'll build it. There are 12 knives available in this sale. The knives in the picture are not the knives you will receive. The knives need scales and sharpened so they won't start to ship until next week.
These are "field grade" with tool and grind marks, milled and tumbled. The bevels are hand ground and slightly convexed after being milled.
Due to limited quantities, please limit one knife per post.
We take cash, check, MO and PayPal
Next sale in four weeks (gonna skip a slot to work on the HDFK preorders). Eight 12" Behemoth Choppers November 3rd.
Thanks for looking.
It lacks both the nearly unbreakable reliability and the corrosion resistance of the Delta 3V version and is more expensive, all in the pursuit of some specific performance characteristics, so in many ways it's a lot like a race car <--- fun but not as practical for every day driving.
It's more expensive than regular D3V not because it's "better" but because the raw material is more expensive and it's more costly to mill and grind. It's less reliable because it's less ductile so extremely rough use will result in a break rather then a bend. And it needs more maintenance because it's not a stainless so you need to clean it off when you're done if you care about its appearance.
Lots of good reasons to pass on this one folks. It's not practical. Go home. You don't need this...
Now that said: it's my favorite LC (I plan to keep one for myself) and: it's probably the highest performance knife of its nature I've made. I'll explain.
These are thinner than normal (almost RLC) Light Choppers with heat treat optimized CPM 4V at HRC 64 taken down under .020" before sharpening and sharpened at 15 DPS. This is aggressive geometry used in competition cuts. That's the purpose of this alloy and HT, it can do that. You probably shouldn't use these to baton through a lot of fire wood but as thin as they are they're not fragile and they'll hold up fine in a competition cut including 2X4 chop, oak dowel, golf ball etc without chipping, rolling or appreciably dulling and sail through ropes, water bottles, paper and straws etc like a laser beam. This is a high performance knife with high edge stability and resistance to the sort of damage like chips, rolls and bends that can get points deducted in a race with the same advanced metallurgy and thin geometry used in competitions. Actually more advanced metallurgy, our heat treat outperforms the current "state-of-the-art".
We started working on optimizing the heat treat for CPM 4V in preparation for the Bladesports Competition knives collaboration with Dan. We've been working on this over the year and there are actually more test knives than sale knives here, meaning that at this point most of the work has been sacrificed to the testing gods. So, the real reason for this work is the comp knives, the 4V LC is just the final platform for the development. But it did yield some very good work and these knives are surplus to that work.
There is a lot of hand grinding that has gone into these particular knives so there is more variation from one to another in things like the plunge and grind lines etc than normal.
We usually have knives mostly done and at least started sharpening before posting a sale. Hard 4V grinds and tumbles slowly, so these aren't ready yet. They're in process and the first of them will start to ship next week but some will be the following week. Sorry about that.
This is the last of the Light Chopper pattern, it is retired. Since we're winding down there are limited numbers of scales available. They will be available on a first come, first serve basis. There are no TeroTuf available, but being a racing knife if anybody wants TeroTuf I will setup and make them, but it will be a few weeks before they're ready.
4V Light Chopper Specs:
HT optimized CPM 4V, 64.0 HRC, .188 thick at ricasso
Total length 15.625
Blade length 9.875
Edge was taken under .020 and sharpened 15 DPS
Weight 17 oz
Grippy 3D machined scales in micarta or TeroTuf
Black oxide treated 18-8 stainless steel fasteners
old pictures from a D3V sale just for reference:
$460 without sheath in micarta, black or natural (five sets in natural, two sets in black available)
$485 without sheath in TeroTuf (none pre-made, can be custom ordered for this sale, will take a few weeks)
$485 without sheath in black and green linen Micarta on black liner (two sets available)
$495 without sheath in maroon linen Micarta on black liner (three sets available)
$505 without sheath in vintage edge grain micarta with black micarta liner (two sets available)
Sheath with dangler $80
Sheath with TekLok $65
Shipping is $10.
This is a big knife. If you're going to carry it on your belt you might prefer the dangler sheath. If you're putting it on or in your pack you might prefer the TekLok. Both configurations work both ways, but it's nice to have a choice.
Tell me what scale option you choose and I'll build it. There are 12 knives available in this sale. The knives in the picture are not the knives you will receive. The knives need scales and sharpened so they won't start to ship until next week.
These are "field grade" with tool and grind marks, milled and tumbled. The bevels are hand ground and slightly convexed after being milled.
Due to limited quantities, please limit one knife per post.
We take cash, check, MO and PayPal
Next sale in four weeks (gonna skip a slot to work on the HDFK preorders). Eight 12" Behemoth Choppers November 3rd.
Thanks for looking.
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